THE VILLAGE PLAZA THEATRES 1 & 2
Located in the Kroger Plaza Shopping Center at the corner of Elliott Road and East Franklin Street.
-Full Rocking Chair Seats For Maximum Comfort
-Super Widescreen Projection in both auditoriums
-Astounding stereophonic sound in both auditoriums
-Huge Lobby Area and Super Concession Stand Available for your convenience!
-ACRES OF FREE PARKING!!!
-SUPER BARGAIN SHOWS WITH MATINEES EVERYDAY!!!!

PLAZA 2-The Exclusive Triangle Engagement Showing in FULL STEREOPHONIC SOUND ON OUR SUPER WIDESCREEN!!!!-The colossal hit of the year comes to the Triangle!!!!George C. Scott and Karl Malden in “PATTON”

THE COMING ATTRACTIONS ARE ON THE WAY TO THE PLAZA:

-The massive colossal hit of 1970- “AIRPORT” with an all-star cast that includes Burt Lancaster and Dean Martin.

The third auditorium had a much larger widescreen that was equipped for 70MM presentations. A DOBLY STEREO system was installed in 1980 for the showing “THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK”(In Screen 3)during its initial run.

The Village Plaza Theatres was a Chapel Hill landmark for 33 years operating from 1970 to 2003. Located at the corner of Elliott Road and East Franklin Street in the Village Plaza Shopping Center(which was also known as the Kroger Plaza Shopping Center that was anchored by a Super Kroger Center and specialty shops). It opened in 1970 as a twin cinema and by 1973 a third auditorium was added becoming a triplex. Two more auditoriums were added in the mid-1990’s when it became a multiplex until it’s closing in 2003.

When the Valley Twin Theatres closed in 1988,construction of two multiplexes were being built along that stretch of Glenwood Avenue and all of Northwest Raleigh…….

-The opening of the Pleasant Valley Promenade Cinema 7 on October 27,1989 (which was General Cinema’s first venue in the Raleigh-Durham market)just three blocks from Crabtree Valley Mall.

-The Raleigh Grande 16-(Raleigh’s megaplex cinema)opened in May of 1998.

-The Carmike Cinema 7-(located off Atlantic Springs Road at Millbrook Road in North Raleigh)was Carmike’s first multiplex theatre for Raleigh that opened on November 3,1989. The Carmike 7 did not replaced the Valley Twin,but the chain did however wanted to built a bigger cinema that basically expanded their market in the Northern section of Raleigh.

Mike:
Carmike was the last theatre to operate the Valley Twin. In my posession I have the original ads on the two features during the Valley’s last picture show in 1988.
At that time,this theatre was under Carmike Cinemas. The November 15,1988 last picture show at the Valley Twin were as follows:

Mike:
Carmike was the last theatre to operate the Valley Twin. In my posession I have the original ads on the two features during the Valley’s last picture show in 1988.
At that time,this theatre was under Carmike Cinemas. The November 15,1988 last picture show at the Valley Twin were as follows:

The CRABTREE VALLEY MALL was anchored by three department stores that opened on August 8,1972:

-HUDSON BELK-Which was the largest Belk’s in the state and the largest retail department store to be built in Eastern North Carolina that opened in 1972.

-THALHIMERS-Which became HECHT’S and is now MACY’S.

-SEARS ROEBUCK AND COMPANY-At the time of its opening was the largest SEARS store in the Carolinas and in all of Eastern North Carolina that opened in 1972. This store replaced the one that was located at Cameron Village. This SEARS store had expanded features including its own restaurant and snack bar section!

Steven Spielburg’s THE COLOR PURPLE was one of three theatres in the state of North Carolina that was given the exclusive engagement showing of the film when it opened on December 20,1985. These are the theatres that were the exclusive engagement showings:

-Raleigh (Valley Theatres 1 & 2)

-Greensboro (Janus)

-Charlotte (Park Terrace)–[In Dobly Stereo]

Other theatres didn’t get the general release of the film until February or March of 1986. Only Raleigh, Charlotte and Greensboro were the exclusive engagements.

The Convenience Center opened in early 1971 with the opening of several stores that was part of the strip plaza that was facing the corner of Glenwood Avenue and Blue Ridge Road. This was anchored by a Big Star grocer and several speciality shops were added including a Singer Sewing Store, Pier One Imports, Catherine’s Women Store, a United States Branch Post Office, a Laundromat and Dry Cleaners.

A Crabtree Valley Barber Shop and Beauty Salon,and a Hardees Restaurant. Not to mention a Shoe Store and other specialty shops. The Valley Theatres were on the opposite end of the Plaza facing Blue Ridge Road right across from the Good Year Tire and Auto Center that was basically across the street from the convenience center.

The shopping mall itself,CRABTREE VALLEY MALL didn’t officially opened to the public until August 8,1972. It was in fact prior to its opening the Triangle’s first-ever megaplex shopping center and was the largest indoor shopping center in the state and in all of Eastern North Carolina. CRABTREE VALLEY MALL was Raleigh’s second indoor shopping center after the huge success of North Hills which opened in 1966 as Raleigh’s first-ever mall,and after Cameron Village which was Raleigh’s first-ever suburban shopping center that opened in 1949.

The mall was anchored by three major department stores:
-HUDSON BELK-which was the largest Belk store in Eastern North Carolina that opened on August 8,1972.
-THALHIMERS
-SEARS ROEBUCK AND COMPANY
With the supporting stores:
-MILLER AND RHOADES
-G.C. MURPHY COMPANY
-TREASURY DRUGS
-PICCADILLY CAFETERIA
With more than 200 stores and services

From Mike Rogers' (7-13-2010) comment: Mike is right!
“Beyond the Valley of the Dolls” was released in 1970 by 20th Century-Fox that actually played in first-run theatres and not some slutty adult movie house. By the way,this picture was in fact Rated “X” for a reason!!! During it’s run,the film did huge business despite the criticism it got for it’s graphic subject matter. Also,the theatres here in Raleigh and in Durham did played this as part of their “late shows” on Friday and Saturday nights……The Valley Twin Theatres was in fact the only movie theatre during it’s showing of the film did played it as a later matinee…very risky for its time in 1970.

This was the theatre that replaced the Union Square 8 in Monroe that closed in June of 2012. The Sun Valley 14 is the ONLY megaplex and only movie palace that is between Monroe and Indian Trail and basically the only locally owned movie house serves the entire area of Union County and surrounding areas.

The Reynolda Cinema opened on January 18,1967 as a 750-seat single screen theatre under Stewart and Everett Corporation. A second auditorium was added that was adjacent to the original auditorium that had a seating capacity of 304 that opened as the Reynolda Cinema 1 & 2 on Friday March 15,1974 with the premiere attraction DAY OF THE DOLPHIN starring George C. Scott. By the 1980’s,the original auditorium’s 750 seat was split into two sections creating two shoebox auditoriums with smaller screens and was renamed the Reynolda Triple Cinemas until it closed in 1996.

Opened in either 1953 or 1956 as the Highway 70 East Drive-In Theatre and it was a single screen outdoor drive-in with a car capacity of 390. At the time of it’s opening it was the largest outdoor drive-in in all of Alamance County and surrounding areas. It wasn’t twinned until 1969 when the name changed to the Twin 70 Drive-In Theatre until it closed in 1980.

The Church Street Twin Cinemas was never demolished. The theatre closed in the 1990’s as a discount theatre. The building is still there but it has been converted into a mega-church that basically took up that section where it was a shopping center that was anchored by a Zayre Department Store and a Winn-Dixie grocer.

This theatre was once the Trans-Lux In Flight Cinema that opened on March 23,1970. It was renamed the Janus Theatre by 1973 and was twinned by 1976 renamed the Janus 1 & 2. By 1983,it became the Blue Moon Adult Theatre that specialized in showing hardcore XXX-rated films until the late-1980’s or early-to-mid 1990’s. By the 1990’s it became a discount movie house under Janus Theatres and was renamed the Church Street Twin Cinemas until it closed in the late-1990’s. It reopened as a Spanish Language cinema that specialized in showing Spanish films for the huge Latino crowd. By either 2000 or 2001 it closed for good. It was converted into a church by either 2003 or 2004 that is still in business.